When is your Chihuahua due?
A Chihuahua pregnancy lasts about 63 days. Enter the mating date and the calculator gives you the likely due date, which week she's in today, and a calendar with the real dates for each checkup. In this breed, the birth also gets planned: we explain why.
Estimated due date
63 days from matingFor guidance only. Your vet adjusts the real date with ultrasound. A Chihuahua's delivery may need a C-section: this tool doesn't replace veterinary care.
How long are Chihuahuas pregnant?
About 63 days, roughly nine weeks, the same as a dog of any size. Breed size doesn't change gestation; it changes everything else.
The 63 days are counted from ovulation. Because sperm survive for several days inside the female, counting from mating a normal delivery can land between day 58 and day 68, as the American Kennel Club explains. That's why the calculator gives you a window, not a single date.
Two rules worth writing down: before day 58 the puppies are premature and very fragile; after day 68 with no labor, it's a same-day vet visit.
Chihuahua pregnancy week by week
What's happening inside, what you'll notice and what you need to do at each stage.
| Stage | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 Days 1 to 14 | Fertilization and the embryos' trip to the uterus. Nothing shows from the outside. | Normal life. No medication without asking: this is the most sensitive stage. |
| Week 3 Days 15 to 21 | Embryos implant in the uterus. She may eat less or vomit once. | Usual food, normal walks. |
| Week 4 Days 22 to 28 | It can be confirmed now: ultrasound shows the sacs and heartbeats from day 25. | First vet visit with ultrasound. |
| Week 5 Days 29 to 35 | Organs, legs and muzzle form. Appetite rises and the belly begins to show. | No jumping or rough play. |
| Week 6 Days 36 to 42 | Nipples larger and darker. Fetuses gain weight fast. | Switch gradually to puppy food, in 3 or 4 small meals. |
| Week 7 Days 43 to 49 | The puppies' skeletons mineralize. She sheds belly hair. | Set up the whelping box and let her get used to it. |
| Week 8 Days 50 to 56 | You can see and feel them move. Milk may appear. She starts nesting. | X-ray from day 55 to count puppies and measure heads. |
| Week 9 Days 57 to 65 | Restless, off her food, digging at the bed. Rectal temperature drops from about 101.3°F to under 99°F. | Temperature twice a day. When it drops, labor comes within 12 to 24 hours. |
How many puppies do Chihuahuas have?
Between 1 and 4 in the great majority of litters, with an average of 3. First-time mothers and smaller females usually have 1 or 2; a 6-pound female on her second or third litter may reach 4 or 5. Litters of 6 exist and make the news.
The number matters for a practical reason: a single-puppy litter is the riskiest one. That puppy gets all the space and all the nutrition, grows too large and often won't fit through the pelvis. It also produces less of the hormonal signal that starts labor, which can run late.
That's why the late-pregnancy X-ray (from day 55, when skeletons show) isn't a luxury: it tells you how many to expect, so you know when labor is over, and it lets the vet compare head size against the birth canal.
Natural birth or C-section?
Many Chihuahuas whelp on their own without trouble. But it's one of the breeds with the most dystocia (difficult birth), and the reason is anatomical: puppies with large, round heads, and a mother with a very narrow pelvis. If the sire was bigger than the dam, the risk goes up.
What that means in practice:
- ·Talk the birth through with your vet beforehand. With the X-ray in hand, the vet decides whether to schedule a C-section or wait and watch.
- ·A 24-hour emergency number written down and transport sorted. Labor starts at night.
- ·She isn't left alone once her temperature drops.
- ·Females under 4 pounds shouldn't be bred. That's not an opinion: it's what the risk dictates.
When is it an emergency?
During labor, call or head to the clinic if any of these happen. They're the criteria the Merck Veterinary Manual describes for a difficult birth:
- ·More than 30 minutes of strong contractions with no puppy.
- ·More than 2 hours between puppies when you know more are coming.
- ·Dark green or black discharge before the first puppy. After the first it's normal; before, it isn't.
- ·24 hours since her temperature dropped and labor hasn't started.
- ·Day 68 with no sign of labor.
- ·Heavy bleeding, obvious pain, tremors or collapse in the mother.
And during pregnancy: foul-smelling discharge, fever, or going off her food for more than a day before week nine.
Care during pregnancy
- ·Food. Her usual food through week five. From week six, a good-quality puppy food, denser in calories, split into 3 or 4 meals: with the uterus taking up room, a large meal won't fit. The AKC's pregnancy guide agrees.
- ·No calcium supplements unless your vet prescribes them. Giving calcium during pregnancy raises the risk of eclampsia after birth, which in toy breeds is an emergency.
- ·Exercise. Normal walks, no jumping or stairs from week five.
- ·Medication and parasite control. Nothing without asking. Several common products aren't safe in pregnancy.
- ·Whelping box. A low box with sides, washable blankets and a heat source, somewhere quiet. Have her sleep there from week seven.
Greater Goods digital scale for weighing the puppies
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A newborn Chihuahua weighs 2.5 to 5 ounces and has to gain every single day. Weighing them at the same time daily is the only way to know they're nursing well: the one who doesn't gain in 24 hours needs help. This one has a hold function for puppies that won't lie still.
Ojo:A kitchen scale accurate to 1 gram does exactly the same job and you probably own one already. This model isn't sold in Spain and is often out of stock in Mexico, so the link goes to a search there.
Check the scale on Amazon →And after the birth
The first 14 days are the most delicate of a Chihuahua's life: they can't regulate temperature, weigh about as much as a plum and depend on nursing every two hours. What they should weigh day by day, the three serious risks and when to call the vet are in newborn Chihuahua care.
And a note from the club: we don't breed or sell puppies here. If the mating was an accident, or you're considering a litter "so she can have puppies once," it's worth talking to your vet first: in this breed delivery carries real risk for the mother, and there are plenty of Chihuahuas waiting for a family in shelters.
Frequently asked questions
How long are Chihuahuas pregnant?
How many puppies do Chihuahuas have?
How can I tell if my Chihuahua is pregnant?
Do Chihuahuas need a C-section?
At what age can a Chihuahua get pregnant?
What do I do if the mating was an accident?
For when they arrive
How big they'll get, and how they grow month by month.